Fate Stopped By
by go-sandy
Summary: When Ryan goes back to Chino after Theresa’s pregnancy, Summer decides to visit and things go wrong. But can a friendship develop and stand tall through it all? [RyanSummer]
1. Visitations For A Reason

A/N: An idea I've been pondering for a while… I'm trying to keep it anything but OOC. It's AU post-season 1/pre-season 2.

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**Fate Stopped By**

Pairing: Ryan/Summer

Rating: PG-13

Setting: AU – post-season one/pre-season 2.

Summary: When Ryan goes back to Chino after Theresa's pregnancy, Summer decides to visit and things go wrong. But can a friendship develop and stand tall through it all?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the OC. They belong to their rightful owners.

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It had been twenty minutes since Summer arrived at Chino. In front of Ryan and Theresa's place, to be exact. And it'd also been twenty minutes since Summer turned off the radio, took the keys out of the ignition, and stationed herself in the car, staring up at the house. She hoped that perhaps she wouldn't have to get up and knock and deal with the awkwardness of waking everyone in the household up at—she glanced down at her watch—3 A.M. But after twenty minutes of waiting, she realized that Ryan's 6th sense radar wasn't going to pick up on her.

Sighing, she unlocked her door and stepped out of the car. She took a minute to breathe, straighten out her shirt, and tell herself that she's a complete moron for doing this. She ran her eyes around the area, noticing that she was _not_ in Newport anymore. There were no parties in the backyard. There were no Range Rover's and BMWs parked in the driveway. And there sure as hell wasn't a single mansion in sight. Instead there were garbage bags in the backyard, bicycles and rundown cars in the driveway, and identical houses lining the streets. She sighed. No, this was _not_ Newport, and she was_ not_ at home anymore.

After gathering up all the courage and energy she had at that time in the night—or rather, morning—she stepped up to the door and knocked lightly, cursing every time her fist came in contact with the door.

Summer wrapped her arms around her body, protecting herself from the cool breeze and what she imagined to be the _dangerous _streets of Chino. But truth be told, it wasn't as bad as she'd imagined. The streets seemed pretty empty and quiet. Peaceful, even. She guessed that the streets were loud and violent when there was trouble… kind of like Ryan.

Finally, the sound of a lock cracking sounded in the air, and the rusty door handle twisted. Summer drew in her breath and glued a smile on her face, hoping it was Ryan. But her smile instantly faded away into a frown of confusion when an elderly woman stepped up to the door, muttering in some foreign language.

"Hi," Summer said, waving her hand awkwardly. "Is R-Ryan here?" she stammered, squinting at the lady that was still murmuring incoherent things.

"Ryan?" the woman repeated, almost disgusted.

"Atwood?" Summer offered hopefully.

"Ah!" the woman exclaimed, her eyes lighting up for a moment before they went dim again. "Ryan Atwood," she pondered. Patting Summer's back, the woman grinned, showing off her chipped teeth and darkened gums. She pointed at an identical house next to hers. She smiled at Summer and repeated, "Ryan Atwood."

Summer understood and smiled. "Thank you," she said slowly. She began to walk away when she stopped and turned back, waving at the woman and smiling apologetically. "And sorry!" She sighed, watching the woman disappear into her house and within seconds, the whole house went dark again.

Walking up to the house next door, she prepared to knock with a long breath, but before she could, a figure hidden behind a thin layer of curtains caught her eye. Her eyes cringed, looking thoughtfully at the figure. "Ryan?" she murmured softly to herself.

She made her way to the window and took a closer look. It was Ryan… only it seemed like an older, more worn-out version of Ryan. His hair was beginning to crawl to his shoulders and soon enough, his beard would too. His eyes were shut and circled by a dark grey that added to the overall weary state he seemed to be in. Her eyes traveled down his body and she spotted a half-empty bowl of macaroni in his hand, carefully placed in his lap. Why was he holding the bowl if he was going to sleep? Or maybe he didn't know he was going to sleep. Maybe it just happened. Like Theresa and the baby just _happened._

She hesitated for a few moments, but when she realized that she had driven all the way from Newport at 2 in the morning, she knew she had to do what she'd come for. She raised her hand to the glass and knocked ever-so-softly, somehow hoping for Ryan not to wake up, but at the same time willing his eyes to open.

It took her a few more knocks to get his eyes to flutter open. When they did, she noticed the blood-red nerves were more visible and his blue eyes barely shone under the dull layer of plain fatigue.

She expected his eyes to light up when he saw her, but they just stared back at her boringly. He sat up, took hold of the fastened shut window, and dragged it upwards.

"Hey," Summer said simply, but her voice came out more concerned then she wanted it to be. She didn't want her to think that she pitied him. Even though his state_ was_ pitiful.

"Hey," Ryan responded, his own voice sounding low and unhopeful. "What're you doing here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes on her.

"Um," she began. "Do you think I can come in, maybe?"

"Yeah, ofcourse." They both made their way to the front door. Summer waited outside as Ryan fumbled with the lock and finally opened the door, moving aside for Summer to come in. "Sorry about the mess, we don't really have time to clean this place."

"Oh don't worry about it," Summer said, looking around. He was right. The place_ was _a mess. There were blueprints spread across the ground along with hammers, tools, nails and pieces of wood. She looked over at a corner and noticed an unfinished project… it looked like a crib, or something.

"So… what brings you here?"

Summer looked back at Ryan and sighed, digging in her purse for something. She pulled out a small envelope and handed it to him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's from Seth," she explained. "He left us all notes."

"Left us?"

"Didn't Sandy tell you?"

"No…"

She sighed. "He sailed away."

Ryan's eyebrows furrowed with utter puzzlement.

She rolled her eyes at the memory. "He left to Portland 'cause you aren't in Newport anymore. His knight in shining armor. He has nothing to live for anymore," she said in mock-desperation, her voice dripping with sarcasm and irritation.

"Oh."

Summer looked Ryan over once again and saw that he was still holding the half empty bowl of macaroni. "Late night snack?"

Ryan didn't realize what she was talking about until she pointed at the bowl. He sighed, rubbing his temple with his empty hand. "No, I uh… I fell asleep."

"What time?"

Ryan looked down at his watch. "7 hours ago."

Summer's eyes widened slightly and then her eyebrows crunched up in concern. "You fell asleep at 8?"

Ryan laughed. Not a happy laugh, or a 'oh-that's-funny' laugh. But a sorrowful one. An 'I'm-laughing-because-I'm-too-tired-to-cry' laugh. "Yeah, you'd be surprised when Theresa sleeps."

Summer raised questioning eyebrows.

"6."

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "Do they have a local curfew system in Chino, or something?"

"No, not really," Ryan said, sitting down on a used up couch. It was a faded brown color with rips on its arms. The butt-marks on it were visible, probably because it was overused. He signaled for Summer to take a seat and she hesitantly accepted. "Theresa works at a coffee shop down the street. She doesn't come back till five. She cooks, takes a shower and goes to bed. She can't do much with the baby… it wears her out."

"Oh…" Summer mused, thinking it over. "How about you?"

"I barely have time to eat when I get home. I usually am back by six, Theresa's already in bed, the foods cold, the hot water in the shower is used up." He snickered. "Today I had to work overtime though… came back an hour late. Took a cold shower… and I ended up sleeping at the window."

"Do you usually sleep at the window?"

Ryan considered the question and shrugged, thinking about the washed-out bed he shared with Theresa. Or the one he sometimes _refused_ to share with her. He never told her that, of course. He just decided some days that he would sleep on the couch. Or the window. The floor, even. "Sometimes."

Summer nodded her head slowly, wondering what she should say to him. _I'm sorry;_ _I hope the baby's not yours?_ They never tell you what to say when it really counts. They only teach you things like _"Thank you,"_ or _"Please,"_ or _"Charge it to my credit card."_ They don't teach you what to say when someone's telling you how shitty their life is. So she decided to stay silent.

They both stayed silent, in fact, until Theresa appeared in the bedroom doorway, and she looked almost as exhausted as Ryan did. "Ryan…" she muttered, making her way into the living room. Summer stood up, smiling awkwardly. "Oh," Theresa said, surprised. "I'm sorry, I, uh, I didn't expect company." She turned to look at Ryan. "When I heard the voices I thought you were watching TV."

Summer nodded. "I'm sorry, it's my fault. I should get going, let you guys go back to sleep."

Theresa's eyebrows popped up. "Back to Newport?"

Summer nodded.

Theresa shook her head. "It's 3 am, you really shouldn't drive now. You can sleep here tonight, tomorrow morning you'll be freshened-up and wide awake so you can keep your eye on the road."

Summer looked over at Ryan, unsure, and Ryan nodded.

"She's right," he said. "You can sleep next to Theresa. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Oh, no, really," Summer began to object, but was stopped by Theresa.

Theresa had a sad smile playing upon her face. "Don't worry. He's used to sleeping on the couch."

Summer didn't quite understand what that meant, but it seemed like Theresa and Ryan knew pretty well. She simply nodded as Theresa led her into the bedroom.

Ryan reclined onto the couch, throwing his feet up. He realized he was still wearing his construction boots, but he was too tired to take them off. He looked over the envelope that Seth left him. He read his name, "Ryan", written across the front of the envelope and sighed. Ripping it open, he read through the letter.

_Dear Ryan,_

_Hey man. How're you? I mean, other than having a pregnant woman with her hormones flying all over the place living with you, how does it feel to be back in Chino? Okay, well, stupid question. It's not like your going to answer it anyway._

_Well, I'm off. I realized Newport wasn't for me. It never was until you came along. Hey, we ordered Chinese and we got fortune cookies. I decided this is for you._

"_He who knows he has enough is rich."_

_You hear that, Julie Cooper?_

_Take care, man._

_Seth._

That night it wouldn't have made a difference if Summer drove home or stayed in Chino, because either way she didn't sleep. Neither did Ryan… but what was new there?

It was the shrill scream a few hours later that made them realize that fate was stopping by for a while, and it had some life-changing news for them. Again.

TBC.


	2. Fate's New Plan

A penetrating scream was all it had taken for Summer to be violently shaken out of her thoughts. Just as she bolted up from the bed, she found Ryan flashing through the doorway and grabbing onto Theresa's hands. It all happened so fast. One second she was lying down in bed, wondering what Seth was thinking of, and the next she was trying to adjust her eyes to the light that Ryan had flicked on once he rushed into the room.

Summer knew the yell had escaped Theresa, but she was clueless why and it scared her to death that she was going to find out sooner or later. But it was sooner than she thought. Theresa's back was facing Summer, her legs dangling off the bed. Ryan and Theresa seemed to be staring intently at something beneath Theresa, and Summer's heart pounded against her chest as a few possibilities of what it was passed through her mind.

Muttering a little prayer, Summer glanced at what they were looking at. Instantly, her eyes widened. The sight of fresh blood spread out on the white linen between Theresa's thighs pierced into her eyes. _"Oh my God!"_ she exclaimed in a whisper, instinctively jumping out of the bed and gawking down at the blood.

Summer could hear Ryan urgently asking Theresa questions, but all Theresa could do was stare down at the blood with tears strolling down her cheeks. With every shaky breath that escaped Theresa's lips, her chest heaved severely, mirroring Summer's chest.

"_Summer!_" she heard her name being yelled across the room. Her head jerked towards the source. Ryan looked up at her with demanding eyes, but she quickly averted hers back down to his hands, grasping Theresa's firmly. His veins were sticking out like never before, and she could swear she could see the blood pumping through them.

"Call an ambulance," Ryan commanded calmly, sharply. "Tell them there's a pregnant woman bleeding, all right?

Summer took in a deep breath, swallowing hard, before she dashed out of the room and into the living room. Her eyes scanned the room anxiously for any sign of a telephone, but all she seemed to see was dirty plates, discarded clothes, and blueprints. Those damn blueprints that were spread over almost every inch of the floor. Summer took a second to breathe before she began to yank things out of her way, desperately in search of a phone. As if she just retrieved her memory after years of amnesia, Summer bounded from her spot and ran to the front door of the house, unlocking it, and sprinting out towards her car. As soon as she unlocked the car, Summer grabbed her purse and wrapped her shaky fingers around her silver cell-phone. She flipped it open and dialed an ambulance, cursing under her breath as it rang relentlessly.

"There's a pregnant woman bleeding!" she yelled as soon as she heard a greeting from the other end. The receiver of the phone call was asking her questions in a quiet, calm tone, as if nothing was happening. "I don't know!" she snapped. "I don't know if this happened before, I just found her like this. Please, we need an ambulance!"

Ryan carried Theresa into the living room, kicking everything and anything out of his way. Theresa was mumbling pleas to Ryan, telling him that she didn't want to die. Begging him not to take her to the hospital. Ryan was too caught up in the moment to respond, but his actions spoke a million words.

Summer ran back into the house in time to see Ryan placing Theresa onto the same worn-out brown couch that they had sat on yesterday. Suddenly the washed-out color of the couch didn't seem to be very important. The bleeding woman on top of it seemed more interesting. In a bad way.

"Did you call an ambulance?" Ryan asked, and Summer realized that he was towering over her, his hand grasping her arm. He must've been trying to ask her for a while now. She nodded quickly in response and felt Ryan's grip on her disappear as he walked back to the bedroom.

Summer looked over at Theresa, who was crying softly as she lied down on the couch. She walked over, placing her hand on Theresa's. "Hey," she said softly, slouching down next to her. "The ambulance is coming, Theresa." Theresa nodded, her lips quivering with tears. "You don't have to worry."

Ryan came back into the room, hurling orders at Summer along with the keys of the broken down convertible. "Start the engine."

"What?"

"I'm driving her."

Within minutes they were speeding down the streets of Chino, familiar sights from the earlier ride from Newport blurring past them. Theresa's soft sobs were the only thing audible in the car, along with the wheels screeching against the road every time Ryan had to break.

Summer looked over at Ryan, her eyebrows furrowed. She glanced back at Theresa for a moment before asking in concern, "Is she gonna be okay?"

Ryan sighed and, under his breath, he muttered, "I hope so."

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Summer threw a few crumpled dollar bills at the cashier and smiled a thank you at him before walking out of the small hospital café. Her smile immediately faded as she walked up the stairs to the waiting room, two paper cups of coffee in her hand. She spotted Ryan, pacing the hallway in front of the emergency room that Theresa was wheeled into. They had been asked to wait outside about 40 minutes ago, and still hadn't heard a thing.

"Here." Summer offered Ryan a cup of coffee, stepping up behind him in the hallway.

Ryan turned around to the sound of her voice, shaking his head. "No thanks, I'm good."

Summer nodded, placing the two cups onto a nearby table. "Anything new yet?"

Ryan shook his head.

"She's…not supposed to be bleeding, is she?" she asked carefully.

Ryan sighed, sitting down in a plastic chair. He buried his head in his hands. "This isn't supposed to be happening."

Summer's eyes sparkled with concern as she took a seat next to him, cautiously placing her hand on his back and rubbing soothing circles across it. "When I called for the ambulance they asked if it was the first time this happened." She paused, carefully adding, "Is it?"

Ryan remained silent, his head still buried in his hands. Running his hands down his face to cover his mouth, he stared in to space. "No."

Summer parted her lips to speak, but before she could, they both jolted from their chairs and looked at the doctor that had just exited Theresa's room.

"Is she okay…? Is the baby okay?" Ryan asked instantly, his voice low and deep, almost fragile.

"Ms. Rodriguez requested to tell you herself," the doctor offered, a sympathetic smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Mr. Atwood."

Ryan's heart raced as he heard the words, and without further ado, he strode towards her room, shutting the door behind him.

Summer sighed, hugging herself tightly as she watched the doctor walk away into the busy hospital's hall. How is it that this was all happening when _she_ was there? Ryan had been in Chino with Theresa for a whole month. Why now? She couldn't help but wonder how things would've happened if she was in Newport right now. She'd probably hear the news from a frantic Sandy and Kirsten. She almost wished she hadn't come, but she decided that if she was Ryan, she would want a familiar face around.

Summer sighed, crouching down on the floor as she watched the unmoving door to Theresa's hospital room. She could feel her veins pulsate at the thought of what Theresa was telling Ryan at that very moment.

----

"Hey," Ryan murmured softly, stepping closer to Theresa's bed. "You all right?"

Theresa looked up at him, her face drained of any color and her eyes holding a painful truth in the form of tears. "No," she said simply, her voice raspy with tears. "I'm sorry, Ryan."

Ryan sat down on the edge of the bed, taking Theresa's hand in his. "Don't apologize to me… this isn't your fault." Theresa nodded, sniffing back tears. "The doctor wouldn't tell me what happened…"

Looking up, Theresa pursed her lips and inhaled deeply and shakily. "I lost the baby, Ryan."

Ryan paled the second he heard the words. His lips parted in a silent intake of breath that he seemed to hold in for eternity. His eyes went stone cold, blank of any emotions. It only made Theresa cry harder.

"It's okay, Ryan," she whispered, tightening her grip on his hand. "God wants this to happen." Ryan's eyes were staring into space, refusing to look at Theresa. Her empty hand traveled to his face, stroking it softly. "Hey," she said, attempting a smile. "We're only 17. We weren't ready for this. Don't be so grim, okay?"

Ryan's eyes darted back to Theresa's. He gave her a silencing glare, making her bite down on her bottom lip. "This isn't a game, Theresa."

"No, no it's not," she agreed, trying to sit up in bed. She sighed, placing her empty hand on their entwined fingers. "That's why I want you to go back to Newport."

"What?" Ryan shook his head in denial. "No. No, I'm staying here, to make sure you okay."

Theresa shook her head and let out a silent laugh. "I _am_ okay, Ryan. What worse could happen?" She glanced down at their hands and back at his eyes. "I want you to be out of the house when I get home."

"Theresa, no."

"Yes, Ryan," she said sternly. "This isn't where you belong." He made to speak but she silenced him with a shake of her head. "Just go…please."

Ryan looked into her eyes helplessly as she forced a pain-filled smile. Leaning up as best as she could, she wrapped an arm around his neck and brought him forward, planting a kiss on his forehead. "I love you," she whispered before letting him go and lying back on the bed. She looked away as tears began to stream down her face.

Ryan was tired. He was tired of the games life was playing with him. Throwing him from Chino, to Newport, and back to Chino. He was tired of having a different family every couple of months. First it was Dawn and Trey, then it was Sandy and Kirsten, and now when he thought he had Theresa and his baby to call his own, he gets proven wrong. Again. Every time fate hands him an agenda, God changes his plans and Ryan doesn't get the memo.

Hesitantly, Ryan stood from his place, his eyes still on Theresa. He took small steps backwards until his back came in contact with the door. She still wouldn't look at him. Silently, he exited the room to the waiting room.

Summer jumped from her spot on the floor and approached him, worried by his cold features. "What's wrong? What happened? Is she okay?"

Ryan looked into Summer's eyes, his own still distant and shocked from what had transpired a few moments before. "Would you do me something?"

Summer's forehead creased with concern. "Of course."

"Let me pack my stuff… and take me back to Newport."

"What…? Ryan," Summer mumbled softly. "What's going on?"

"Theresa had a miscarriage."


End file.
